Exposed Inferno
by Leafy Lincoln
Summary: Years after peace, Agunimon/Flamemon is thrust back into the human world and needing a way to get back. And quickly. Will Takuya and the gang help him find his way back or will the human society find him and the digital world first? Digimon:Frontier.
1. The Journey

Okay, a quick note to all readers. The digimon in here is called 'Flamemon' but the Japanese spell it 'Flamon', which is the spelling most of you are probably use to seeing. Either way of spelling is correct, but we prefer this way. In addition, there's a flashback, which we've_ italicized_ for your benefit.

Anyway, hope you enjoy this!

* * *

"I'll kill 'ya for what you did to me before!"

_ There's a memorable way to__start a conversation._

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry for… you know… kicking your butt before and totally taking away your dignity by hauling your butt everywhere while fused with a human." I apologized in any way I could think of. The response given to this so-called apology was a snarl of anger, "But to make things fair, you attacked me first."

Cerberumon did not look happy with this point or anything else I had said. He pawed the ground in agitation with large, clawed paws. Above each paw were three metal, even more sharp and deadly looking, claws. Black armor covered most, if not all, of his body which shined from the reflecting sunlight. Upon his tense, muscular shoulders were the armored heads of dark canines, their eyes black with darkness that still allowed the owner of them sight. At the moment they seemed to zone in on me, and only me.

Me being the Legendary Human Warrior of Flame, Agunimon.

Currently I was in a fighting stance, knees bent and arms raised up to conjure any _hot_ attacks if needed. I could feel the fire within me stir at the mere thought of battle, wanting to burn every foe down to ashes. The small holes that occurred often in the red armor that protected me sizzled as the fire swirled inside me. My blue eyes locked on the figure a few paces in front of me, trying to figure what he was going to do. Which was probably the cause of catching the moment when the other digimon's joints bent ever so slightly and he sprung at me.

That's when the instincts kicked in. Grabbing the gray fur that hung out of the dark mask that clung to the dog digimon's face and using the momentum of the spring I whirled in a circle and threw the canine in the opposite direction. He didn't even hit the ground before I was on him again, yelling, **"Pyro Punch!"**

My fist went crashing into my opponent, an outline of a dragon made out of fire backing up the attack. The instant the attack was pronounced successful I jumped back as far as I could go. Smoke gathered around us, coming from one of my enemy's many mouths, rendering me sightless of Cerberumon.

What I did get an eyeful a few seconds later was a blast of green fire- more like acid really. The distant roar of **"Emerald Blaze!"** still echoed around in the area as the attack hit me full on. I was thrown backwards with the other on top of me, his claws digging into my chest, trying to find anyway past my own armor.

Cerberumon's mouth curved upwards in an evil and triumphant smile, with lingering green fire dripping down the sides of his mouth. He even chuckled a bit before saying, "This is where you cry for mercy. Too bad I ain't gonna give you any time to do it."

** "Portals of Dar-"**I didn't allow him to finish that command as fire erupted out of me, causing the ugly dog jump back in an effort not to get fried.

"You shouldn't waste time talking." I said, thinking at once that I was a hypocrite to my own words. I gathered as much strength as I could handle and, before Cerberumon could even think, launched myself at him. **"Pyro Tornado!"**Immediately I was engulfed in a swirling vortex of fire, upon the unsuspecting digimon, sending a hard roundhouse kick to the side of his head.

Cerberumon's head snapped to the side, and the body sent crashing to the rocky wall a millisecond later. He made contact with a loud audible _thud_. The digimon proceeded to get up instantly, shaking off the attack like it was a fly.

_ Hmm, he should be down for the count. He wasn't this strong before._ I thought, heading straight towards him.

** "Portals of Darkness."**

With those words leaving his lips I could hear the sound of the dark hole I knew would be forming somewhere. But Cerberumon didn't do anything more, just stood there and looked at me with cold, sly eyes. A shiver went through him suddenly as the seconds ticked by, with me looking at the ground left and right of me.

Nothing.

No black holes anywhere.

Just regular old dirt that made the ground beneath my feet.

I took a step back, ready to conjure up another attack, but hesitated with my foot connected with nothing. My head twitched back to look behind me, my eyes widened as I saw the gaping hole right behind me. With me literally at the edge, a mere breathe away from falling.

Then something caught my eye, something strange. Instead of the endless darkness of the usual 'Gateway to Hell' I saw a bright light in the very center. It illuminating the sides of the usual side less hole. I turned back toward Cerberumon, the inquiry already on my lips.

"What wrong with th-"

I was stopped before I could finish the question, as a heavy weight, Cerberumon, was thrust upon me. The push was enough to drive my hardly balanced body over the edge along with Cerberumon. The sound of crazy laughter came into my ears that could only come from the canine on top of me. Only it stopped and turned to a whine when we never hit a floor or any kind of base. The form of light I had seen before had disappeared and left only darkness in its place.

"Something's wrong! This isn't my portal!" Cerberumon almost wailed.

I kicked the digimon off me and used the momentum to push myself toward the side. When I came close to it I tried to grasp the jagged and rough wall. My hands raked down it, trying to find some kind of foothold, my arms were almost ripped out of their sockets from the effort.

An endless shout of pure terror made me look back to see Cerberumon continue in his falling, down the seemingly endless pit. I wanted to reach out my hand for him but knew it would be too late and would just cause more trouble for me if I let go of my hold on the wall. Still, I couldn't hold in the scream the escaped my lips, "Cerberumon!"

Soon, though, him and his screams were lost to the blackness.

A frown set itself on my face as I looked at the wall I was all but clinging too. The frown deepened as I reached for the fire I knew was in me and directed it to my fingertips. Then I dug my fingers deeper into the wall, trying to get a more stable hold. Sadly, it didn't go as planned.

The heat blasted the rock like fragile glass and I, along with parts of the rock, went down. Down into the endless pit. I thought my eyes were fooling me when I saw the rocks come together and melt into one, forming a thin, small hexagon shape. It glowed a dull, dark red and purple color. Burned into the middle of the hexagon was a flaming sun. But my mind dismissed this all without hesitation. _Who cares? I'm gone. Nothing is to become of me._

Air rushed around me as I fell, my hair flowing upwards. My usually warm armor felt cold, almost stinging my face when they touched. I could feel myself losing my fire, my power, the essence of Agunimon.

Slowly I closed my eyes and was welcomed to the same darkness that I left.

* * *

Takuya Kanbara was stuffing his face with bacon and eggs this morning with the utmost urgency. Why you ask? Simply because he could. That and because of the fact that he hadn't eaten the night before. He had come home later than was planned, been issued a good scolding by his mother and sent off without dinner.

His hair was as flimsy as ever, underneath his gray hat, and his eyes as brown as ever. He was usually now dressed in a simple mustard colored T-shirt under an open red button down shirt, with casual pants. Square goggles were slumped on the table in front of him, momentarily forgotten as food was supplied in front of him. His mother, always finding his appetite in the morning shocking, continued to lay out the food.

His bare feet lightly tapped the wood floor of the living room.

Dimly, he could hear the T.V. in the kitchen, its volume set so low he could just make out the mutterings of the voices. It was just announcing that the news was about to come on, reporting the events of downtown live for the next half hour.

"Did dad already leave for work?" He asked, his mouth slightly full.

"Yes, he was called in early today by the office. They need him to take care of some files that don't seem to be processing in the computers."

_ Even after five years of this kind of stuff happening, his work still can't do anything to fix their stupid computers._ Takuya thought, slightly baffled at the fact that technology was progressing in the world but at his father's workplace time seemed to be frozen.

"Shinya, come down for breakfast." His mother called at the base of the stairs, just as he took another bite of his own breakfast. After getting a muffled reply of "I'm coming!" she wandered to the living room and sat along with Takuya at the table. Silently she grabbed two plates, one for herself, and set a generous amount of food on each. When finished she set down the other plate and began to dig into her own.

As if he had a psychic ability, Takuya's younger brother came running down the stairs like a whirlwind and hastily sat down in the seat next to his mother. Without a word he too began eating his food, though to Takuya it looked more like he was a vacuum cleaner sucking in everything he laid his hands on.

"So Takuya…" His mother started, but he cut her off, knowing what she was going to ask.

"Mom, I'm going to go out with Koji and Koichi today. We were planning on hanging out around the mall. Their parents were already informed and I will have my cell phone at all times." He finished the last part rather dully, having to go over the same procedures for the past three weeks. So she wouldn't have a reason to doubt him he flashed her his phone, flipping it open to reveal a full battery.

His mother frowned, while Shinya hid his forming smile by stuffing as much food as he could into his mouth just as Takuya had done not a few minutes ago, "You don't have to sound so annoyed."

Takuya barely kept from rolling his eyes. Barely. "I've only had to answer those specific answer a million times. Not to mention call you every hour, on the hour."

"I'm only worried for your well-being. You know that there are rumors that a criminal is roaming around. You could easily get hurt."

He couldn't hold back the loud sigh that escaped him, "Mom, you've been doing this the past three weeks. Nothing's happened. Nothing will. I'll be fine." He continued with his breakfast, savoring the flavor of it all.

Now it was his mother's turn to sigh. "If only you'd stayed home more…" She led on, turning her head to the side and setting her chin on the middle of her palm. Her large, brown eyes eyed her two sons. Her other hand reached out and stroked her son's hair affectionately, earning a grunt of annoyance from the boy. However, children all around the world had to tolerate their mothers' antics just because of the fact that they were their mothers.

"Mom, ugh. Why would I stay home and watch Shinya play with his little toys? Uh, I don't think so."

"Hey! They're action figures!" His brother protested loudly.

"Of course they are sweetie." His mother said calmly, switching her grooming to Takuya's brother instead. Said younger sibling eyes tried whacking their mother's hand away, but to no avail. "Then invite some friends over. You never do, and I want to meet them. They all sound very nice."

Takuya threw up his hands in defeat. He knew that this was what she wanted all along, "Alright, I'll see if they can come on over later today, or later this week. Are you happy?"

"Very much." She leaned in and kissed him on the head. Then, pushed back her chair and got up, heading into the kitchen. The T.V. got louder, signaling she had turned up the volume. Soon after that the sound of faucet water running told the brothers that she had started the dishes.

Shinya looked at him accusingly, "Action figures."

"Toys." Takuya said dully.

"Action figures."

"Toys."

"Action figures."

"Toys."

They went on bickering for a few more minutes, all the while the news playing on the television. Traffic reports, sports stats, preparation for the upcoming holidays. Nothing really interesting.

Then the live reports came on, with the newswoman introducing herself to the people, followed by talking about the nonsense that went on in downtown. He risked a bored glance at the T.V., and suddenly his eyes became glued to its screen; his argument with his brother long forgotten.

"Mom," He asked, his voice thankfully not sounding like he was being strangled. "Could you turn up the T.V.?"

"Sure thing sweetie." Not noticing his paling face she did what he asked, allowing the woman's, Mrs. Natalie, voice to be heard clearer.

_ "As you can see behind me there is a clear road all the way down to Calca Avenue."_

Shinya rolled his eyes as if not believing his fight was not as important as what he was hearing. He went on with stabbing the rest of his eggs with his fork, his face set with a determined look.

_ "Now as we look to the store down the street-"_

Mrs. Natalie was never able to finish telling about that certain store down the street because just then a loud scream interrupted her, followed by a loud _BOOM_, cutting her short. Her, along with many other citizens, including her cameraman, turned to the source of the sound.

The picture blurred as the camera was swung around; catching only distorted images and smoke that was coming from a large bank. A few cars were overturned somehow, and nearby streetlights were bent in awkward angles, their bulbs cracks.

_ "NOT SO TOUGH NOW, HUH SQUIRT! THAT'LL TEACH YOU TO MESS WITH ME! GRAR!"_ A raspy, raw-throated bellow sounded from off the screen. The whole thing shook, Takuya saw the people there running to get out of the area, either that or trying to dodge the cars that were currently falling from the sky.

The cameraman was soon pushed, dropped the camera and causing a large crack to issue on the thing, but amazingly the feed was still coming to the television. A loud crackling sound was heard as the man stumbled to get the thing back in his now unsteady hands.

Takuya had unconsciously gotten up from his chair and was walking slowly to the TV; not even replying to the confused and outraged talk of his brother. It stopped when the little boy saw the screen, coming just as close. Even his mom stopped what she was doing and peeked over to see the monitor, interest and worry coloring her doe-like eyes.

A loud scream was made as a woman came into focus. She was carrying a small child in her arms and pumping her legs as far and as fast as they would go. She kept glancing back to see if anything was coming, her terrified looks was copied and pasted on every other face there.

What she was running from came into view almost instantly. It was huge and its black armory skin smashed against random cars and buildings in its path. The metal and stone were destroyed without mercy, but the armor stayed intact. Its ivory teeth were dripping with saliva that was tinged green for some odd reason. All this was observed as it pounced on the closest living thing it could find, being the mother and child. The big shadow of it was brought down upon the two and so would be the actual thing in a matter of seconds.

"Oh no." He didn't even recognize his own words as he looked at the digimon. He knew which digimon too. Cerberumon. It was his first taste of digimon and the digital world all coming back to him. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see both his brother and mother's wide eyes, along with the hand that his mother had brought up to cover her mouth in horror with.

_Faster_. _Just a bit faster._ Everyone seemed to be chanting in their minds, a plea going to a woman who couldn't hear them.

It turned out that she didn't need to. A flash of russet fur came onto the screen as it tackled the woman and kid. They were sent tumbling in the direction of the Mrs. Natalie and her cameraman, who looked as if they were paralyzed with fright. However the cameraman wasn't so frightful that he couldn't angle the camera down and zone in on the mysterious blob of fur. They could all see the slight fuzziness appear before the camera zoomed in with intense picture.

Then the figure stood up and revealed the okay victims of the vicious canine. The mother looked up to see her savior and thank him but stopped when getting a good look.

He was small. The size of a ten year old to be exact. His skin was a dark brown with weird markings and symbols tattooed on different places on his body. Large fingerless gloves covered his hands, bolts and metal shinning in the sunlight. Those big, bright green eyes looked this way and that as if he wasn't sure where he was and what he was doing. Random straps of what looked to be leather were hanging off each shoulder and around his neck was peculiar looking chain. The bushy tail matched his mane of orange hair that semi-hid his attention grabbing horns. Dark bracelets were wrapped around his ankles that made you look even further down at his large, clawed feet. His pants were kept up by a black belt with a dusty buckle with a familiar symbol of it. The symbol of the Spirits of Flames.

He looked down and opened his mouth, allowing everyone to get a good look at his pointy teeth, "I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"

The woman just stared at him, not comprehending that he had spoken to her or at all. It's a surprise the cameraman didn't drop the camera.

The digimon, for it surely was a digimon, took the woman's silence for a confirmative that she was okay. The little boy in her arms looked up at him with wide eyes, raising his hand out slightly as if he wanted to pet that jungle of hair. The digimon grinned, once again showing those teeth, "Yeah, you guys are alright. Although not if I don't stop that stupid thing over there."

His clawed thumb jerked in the direction of the canine digimon who was whipping its head around frantically, looking for the people that were suppose to be crushed by him. Luckily there was no one else close to the thing. Correctly, there was no one to be seen still outside.

"Who- What-t are y-you?" The news lady was not beyond getting the first story on the scene. Although stuttering, she shuffled closer to it.

"The name's Flamemon. I'm a digimon, of course. What else would I be?" The people looked even more confused than before but either he didn't notice or chose not to. "I'll get him off your hands for you. A token of my apologies for getting you into this mess in the first place."

"Flamemon?"

"Digimon?"

"How did he get here?"

All these questions were asked simultaneously, all were spoken in confused tones, and all were never answered as they refocused their attention to the TV.

Flamemon had put his back to the camera and took two slow steps before setting off at a run toward the other digimon. When he was close enough he jumped, higher than any average human, and somersaulted, **"Flame Tail."**

He was consumed in an eruption of spinning fire, headed straight for Cerberumon. Lifting its face up from the inspection it was doing of the floor Cerberumon got a whole face full of Flamemon. The attack ended with his leg crashing down of the head of the dog digimon.

The result of the whole thing was Cerberumon screaming out in pain as fire scorched his vulnerable eyes and Flamemon safely back where he had started.

"Isn't that just the ugliest dog you've seen?" The fire digimon turned to the little boy in the frozen mother's arms and grinned widely, "The sad part is that he is one of the prettier Cerberumon. Tells a lot about them, don't it."

** "EMERALD-"**

His eyes widened considerably as he grabbed and pushed the four people standing there off to the side with lightning speed. They didn't even have the time to blink before they found themselves lying awkwardly on the ground. The crack on the screen deepening and multiplying to a greater extent. Some mud was dripping down the upper right side of the lens.

** "BLAZE!"** The cameraman wasn't quick enough to capture the attack but everyone could see the green tinges to the whole scene. It did turn once the flow of green was done, only to let the viewer's get a good look at the spot the news reporters once were. It was burned beyond recognition; multiple holes were melted into the ground almost like acid.

** "Baby Salamander."** The loud speech was heard as the camera was swung around once again to get a look at the battle raging on. The little digimon had swung his fist at the monster digimon and much to the surprise of everyone the thing stumbled back a few paces, a linger of fire still in the air.

Then the Flamemon, despite his size, jump against a nearby wall and attached himself to the face of Cerberumon. With a scream he burst into flames. And no matter how much the head was shaken the little thing wouldn't budge, never losing in his grip or in his heart-pounding yell. It went like this for a couple of intense minutes until, finally, Cerberumon look like he couldn't take it any longer. His giant clawed paw came up and smacked the poor fire digimon.

Flamemon was sent sprawling directly into the cameraman. The camera fell and the damage made the piece of technology go at its limit. The thing broke and the connection it was broadcasting was lost.

It was quiet at the Kanbara residence for quite some time.

Without surprise it was Takuya's mother who broke it.

"Well, you're definitely not going anywhere now Takuya." Her hands rung the dishrag in her hands nervously as he eyes glazed over, "Not with all that happening, and around our neighborhood!"

"But, m-" The protest died with the look she gave him.

"Wait till your father comes home. Then we can all talk about it."

"You mean you and dad talk about it while I'm sent to bed." Shinya muttered as he headed toward the hallway that would lead to his room. Probably to go play with his 'action figures'. Takuya followed suit without another look or word.

He didn't have anything else to say. Getting out of the house would be much more difficult if his mom thought to check up on him or was suspicious he would do something stupid.

But make no mistake. He was totally going to do something stupid.

It was simply how he did things.

* * *

Groggily, I picked myself upto my knees, wincing at newly acquired scratches and bruises. I was definitely going to be sore in the morning, that was for sure.

_ Only if I live that long._ I thought, hoping that somehow I did make it through the day.

"Grrrr, you'll regret getting in my way. I'm gonna get rid of you, as well as those humans you so foolishly protect." Cerberumon growled, stepping towards me. More importantly, as I looked behind me, the humans. They were defenseless, unable to fight the dark digimon on their own. That, I decided, kept me there. I had to protect them, or at least give them time to run off and escape.

I was the one that had brought this on them after all. All this trouble started the moment I had entered the human world.

* * *

_I opened my eyes, the sudden brightness blinding my eyes. Blinking a few times I quickly refocused my vision, taking in my surroundings._

_ Two walls, gritty and dirty, were on either side of me. Almost an instant later I realized that they were the sides of buildings, as I saw that they were decorated with doors and windows. But for some reason some of the windows were cracked and some others were boarded up with wood and nails. Trash and piles of strange debris were piled up against the wall. An overall vile smell drifted to my wrinkled nose._

_ This place wasn't familiar to me._

_ I was up and on my feet, turning my head this way and that, searching for something that I recognized. Then I saw it. It was glittering a red like flame. It was a long chain with an oddly shaped pendant hanging from it. A strange and delicate design was engraved into the thing, strangely reminding me of the symbol of flames. It reeked of the digital world, more so in this alien place full of unfamiliar smells and sights. Both having suspicious thoughts about this item and wanting to have something to remind me of home I decided to take it. I put it around my neck so I wouldn't lose it in this unfamiliar world._

_ I turned to my left and right to see if anything else was recognizable to me. Nothing else came to me. It was all completely alien to me._

_ What is this? Where am I?_

_ Then sounds came to my sensitive ears, blasting my eardrums. I pressed my hands to both sides of head, dulling it as much as I could without much success. They weren't the regular noises I heard in the digital world, but different piercing sounds that could set even a Phantomon with the shivers._

_ I turned to the light not far off. If I just sat there and did nothing I would never find out where I was. Or my way home. With a set determination I strutted toward it._

_ Once I saw what was before me I stopped cold._

_ It was Cerberumon. In the flesh. And standing next to him was…a small furless digimon. My breath caught when I realized what the digimon was. That in fact it wasn't a digimon at all, but a human. A human child to be more specific. He- for surely it was male- was holding tiny fisted hands to his eyes and wailing his eyes out. Hot tears fell from his face as it looked up at the giant digimon next to him._

_ To his credit, Cerberumon was… making it worse._

_ He was growling at the child to make him 'stop its squabbling'. Pawing the ground and thrashing his armored tail with agitation and irritation didn't help the situation anymore. They connected with sides of buildings, causing more destruction and weeping._

_ Soon the small human couldn't take any more of it and, still sobbing, kicked the monstrous thing in the leg. It didn't do much, but the insult was very much there. Cerberumon, being the digimon he was, would make the punishment harsh._

_ Pretty soon the increase in sobbing and snarling had got the attention of the mother of this unfortunate offspring. Then the screaming started. After that so did the threats from the dog digimon._

_ So, being the super awesome and smart digimon I am, I leaped at Cerberumon with fire erupting from body._

_ Oh, and did I mention that I was in my rookie form?_

_ No? Well, I was._

_ Flamemon, at your service._

_ Fighting an Ultimate level Cerberumon._

_ And the rest is history._

* * *

I got up, my muscles protesting greatly, and, some would say stupidly, ran straight at Cerberumon. I waved my arms at him until I got his attention. "Hey! Isn't it me that you want? After all, aren't I the one who totally kicked your butt? And my first battle to boot!" I goaded him, ready to run.

"Why you LITTLE!-" Cerberumon didn't bother finishing his sentence, ending it with a roar. It was so loud that if he kept it up I might just lose all hearing. I was sure that the humans would, if they could hear it past their screaming. The moment the canine digimon launched at me I dodged to the side.

Cerberumon's claws met air as he landed where I was not a few seconds ago, the strange, black material that made up the ground cracking under him. He let out a frustrating roar, and then proceeded to try to tackle me down. I barely missed being chop-liver, his bellow still ringing in my ears. A quick glance back at the humans showed that they had smartly ran, their flailing bodies nowhere to be seen.

Nimbly I leapt to the top of a streetlight. Cerberumon reared onto his hind legs and then slammed back down to the ground, creating a shake. The skinny pole I was handing onto was wobbling like no tomorrow. My hands grasped the metal on the top of the light, my only lifeline from falling. When the shaking stopped I jumped from the light onto another, and then to another, and then to another. I was passing street after street, the scenery a blur, leading the digimon away from any humans I saw. From the trampling I heard behind me I knew Cerberumon was chasing after, the large _crunches_ only ever came when a Cerberumon was around.

** "Portals of Darkness!"** My heart stopped as I misjudged my leap, coming a few inches short. Thankfully I struck out my hand and caught the pole, swinging my body forward and somersaulting to a traffic light, or what I thought was one. The last time I was here was a blur in my mind, seeing how I was still one with a human.

Good times.

Creaking brought me back to reality, as well as the shaking of the traffic light. I snapped out just in time for the pole to bend, heading straight for the dark hole that had just opened up. Letting a small yelp escape me I hurdled myself onto another, one that wasn't falling into what was sure to be my doom.

"You can't run forever!" Cerberumon snarled up at me. Before I could do anything he brought his forelegs onto the pole, pushing forward. "No one escapes my attack, not even you!" He pushed harder, the screaming of the metal sounding his progress. I hate to admit it but I flailed, my arms waving frantically around. As the pole shuddered I lost balanced. As the Cerberumon succeeded in collapsing my perch, I slipped.

The traffic light toppled over, the end just dipping in the dark hole. In the nick of time I had clutched the end, hugging it for my life.

"HAHA! YOU LOOK SO PATHETIC RIGHT NOW!" Cerberumon bellowed as I fumbled to get my feet on something solid. The smooth material the pole was made out of was hard to grip, not impossible, but it would take time and effort to succeed in doing. Time that I didn't have. Cerberumon would never freely give him any.

I ducked my head, purposely sliding down, just as the digimon came at me. Cerberumon claws barely missed my head. Instead, he fell straight into his own portal. I used that time to climb. Even as I regained myself the pole shuddered a final time and slowly slid down. I scrambled my way along and up the pole, the darkness just behind me. With one huge leap I landed in a small heap on the ground.

I wasted no time, doubting Cerberumon would fall in battle so easily. Again, I jumped, but this time I landed on the strange mobile metals that rivaled the number of humans inhabited this world. The metal object moved at high speeds, away from the danger. When I was sure that Cerberumon's attack was no longer in use I finally allowed myself to continue on solid ground.

But, sooner or later, the canine digimon had to have come out of his portals.

** "EMERALD BLAZE!"** I rounded a corner, avoiding the green flame that licked at the side of the building. In a matter of seconds the edges of the building were smoldering, a not-to-good smelling vapor coming off it. I wrinkled my nose in disgust, but kept where I was, waiting.

"Come on out, little fire digimon. It'll all be over soon." I heard the words before I smelled his retched breath. He sounded close, five to ten feet away close. That was the only clue I had before he was upon me.

A large paw came down on my, slamming me down on the ground. The air was squeezed right out me, my whole torso being pushed down with Cerberumon's whole weight. The paw was so large that it hid most of my body from view, the three claws on it each longer as my forearm. Now that I was much smaller than before they looked much larger and deadlier.

I thought about using my flames randomly again but before I could muster of the energy I heard a small _tap_ and a voice yelling. Not at me, but at Cerberumon.

"Get away from him, you big bully!"

I looked up to see a boy. Considerably larger than the little child that had annoyed Cerberumon and started this entire mess. He had a mop of brown hair that was sent downward with the yellow beanie on his head. Covering his torso was a white shirt with brown tailoring the edges. His green shoes surprisingly not clashing with his long, yellow shorts; brown suspenders hung from the belt around his waist. In his hand he held a rock. The other was empty, the rock that once was in it residing at Cerberumon's feet.

"Puny human!" The ugly digimon snarled at the boy that had momentarily gained his attention. "How dare yo-"

** "Baby Salamander."** I said quietly as I squeezed from underneath the giant paw and launched myself toward the head. My fist connected with a satisfying crunch. The sound of something sizzling was also pleasantly present, but I didn't wait to hear the growl of pain I knew would soon follow.

I grabbed the human who had distracted Cerberumon and started at a sprint in a random direction. I heard the _thunk_ of the rock the boy was holding fall to the floor. I knew he was stumbling just trying to keep up with my speed but I pressed on, dragging him along.

"Where are we going?"

"When we get there I'll tell you." Truthfully, I had no idea where I was going. Why I was running in the first place was quite an embarrassment. I mean, I was the Legendary Warrior of the Flames. I defeated many other more powerful digimon in the past, and some were not any ordinary feat. However, in my current state I couldn't even defeat a Toucanmon (and that was just sad). So running away- no, retreating- was the most logical thing to do, as well as the smartest.

"How did you find a way out of the digital world?"

The question caused me to narrow my eyes and give a quick fleeting look back. How could this boy have more knowledge of what was going on than I did? I chose not to answer but to keep dragging his weight around with me, no matter how slow it was making me.

I was running around mobs of people, who could only see a red flicker of me, and barely any of the boy. I jumped over both moving and motionless containers holding the vile trash of this world. I leaped from place to place with speed that was slowly ebbing away as my energy levels went considerably low.

But still I pressed on.

In a final way of retreat I grabbed a fistful of the back of the boy's shirt and launched myself at a nearby wall of the alleyway I had just entered. My remaining three limbs clutched at the square rocks with claws extending out; traveling up as easily as a Patemon would find flying.

In a matter of moments I had climbed all the way to the top. Hauling myself onto the roof of the building I could feel the energy I had spent drain out of me. With some huffing and hard breathing on my side I hauled the knowledgeable human up too. I was literally drained and in a time period of an hour!

I allowed my body to fall to the ground and my arms to hang limply at my side. My sides flowed up and down with hard breaths. My whole body felt like it was on fire- I realized the pun in those words the moment I thought them.

"This is Agunimon's rookie form I suppose. Flamemon right?"

My green eyes are narrow with suspicion as I look at this boy. Even though he looked familiar I couldn't let my guard down a bit.

"Yes. Who are you to know so much about it?" I stood up and tried to be intimidating, but it was considerably hard when the one you are intimidating is taller than you and has a smile plastered onto his face.

"Me? You don't remember me?" His bottom lip jutted out a fraction of an inch.

I didn't know what to say so I stayed silent until the awkwardness of the silence forces him to say something. I didn't have to wait long.

"I guess not." He mumbled while his eyes inspecting his green shoes as they shifted from one to another. He stopped as a frown of determination slid onto his face. His eyes met my large green ones for a second time. "Well, I know you."

"Yeah?" I challenged him.

"Yeah. Back then you called me Kumamon. Sometimes Korikakumon." He said with pride, his chest puffed out a little. The names are what stopped me completely. My mouth was still half open with the comeback I was planning to say.

"Korikakumon. Kumamon." Then I realized why he had looked so familiar. I do know him. I had fought with him, for him, and once against him. His name came to my lips naturally but still tinged with surprise and disbelief. "Tommy?"

"You remember me!" He smiled happily and gave me the thumbs up; just like he would do back then. Then his face went blank, all serious now, showing just how much he had grown, "Now, how did you end up here?"

I was about to answer when a question popped into my mind and, instead of answering his, I asked, "Hey, where are the others?" I looked around with sudden movements, half expecting them to jump into existence.

"Oh, I don't know. Probably at home." He paused for a moment, thinking. His hand drifted into his pocket and pulled something out. It looked really similar to a D-tector to me. "I should call them and tell them what's going on. That way you can tell us all at one time and not have to repeat it over and over and over."

"With a D-tector?"

He looked at the thing with a frown and then laughed. He looked at me and explained, "This isn't a D-tector. It's called a phone. A cell phone actually. We humans use these to communicate with each other anywhere in the world."

"Oh." I nodded like I knew what he was talking about. He pressed his finger against the thing and then held it up to his ear. I could just feel my eyebrows coming together in confusion and a tight frown on my face forming.

It wasn't until he started talking to the thing that I started thinking about his sanity. I looked around to see if in fact there was somebody there and if he was in fact talking to them, but found no one.

When he stopped I tried my best not to look at him like he had lost his digi-marbles.

"Okay." He said finally. Turning his head toward me he smiled brightly. He gestured me to follow him as he walked toward the ladder that led off the roof. The ladder I had painstakingly not noticed when I dragged both my weight and Tommy's up a wall. "Takuya said to meet him and the others at the park."

"Takuya?" I couldn't help with the happiness that ran along with my voice. I just knew that a foolish and bright looking grin blasted onto my face. I jogged to catch up with Tommy, switching onto all four with ease. Hey, what could I say: it came naturally to me. He was already half way down the ladder and still going when I reached the edge.

The excitement at being reunited with my other half again filled the empty space where my energy once was. It was like a dimming ember bursting into a large burning fire. Without a moment of hesitation I pounced at the air in front of me and started to fall. I heard the intake of breath and the call of my name as I passed Tommy in my fall, clutching the ladder with white knuckles. His terror of me falling to my death wasn't needed.

I landed neatly on all fours, my tail up and balancing me. I looked up and grinned even bigger at the boy above me.

"Come on. You're as slow as data."

I pranced around, waiting for him to finish his climb down. In my boredom of waiting and happiness in seeing Takuya again I leaped and played with random objects, as well as search around. One being a bag full of human garbage. It didn't smell as bad as the others so I deemed it safe. It satisfied my needs of entertainment until Tommy came.

"Having fun?" He asked with amusement clearly on his face.

I was a Warrior of Legend after all.

"Nope. Not all." I said with an easy smile of my own. "Garbage only goes so far when concerning fun."

"Let's go then. Just follow me in the trees." He told me as we came to the sidewalk. He gave me a demanding/commanding look. "And try to be sneaky about it. I don't want anyone screaming their heads off if they see you."

"Screaming? Seeing me? I'll be as sneaky as… as a… What _is_ sneaky in this world?" I asked, curiosity coming in my voice.

"Ninjas."

"Fine, I'll be as sneaky as a ninja." With that I leaped into a nearby tree and we both continued on. Becoming absolutely still or going deeper into the foliage whenever someone came close enough to spot me. It was a surprise to me when I actually saw someone out. I guess they didn't hear about the fight between Cerberumon and me. That explained the reason why all those other humans were out. Screams could only travel so far.

To my glee I saw Tommy look back a couple of times, a worried look on his face. Probably just to see if I was actually following him. Every time he looked away from my direction I jumped to the next tree. I didn't reveal myself to him, nor did I want to. After all, I was supposed to be sneaky as a ninja. How would I do that if I showed myself, even to a friend?

No, I kept hidden.

Following some minutes of leaping from tree to tree I got immensely bored. I nimbly climbed down to the lowest branch on my current tree, and leaned down as far as I dared. As Tommy came under me I whispered, "How far is the park?"

Tommy jumped, but quickly got over himself and started walking; only glancing at me for a second, "Not far now. About three minutes tops."

I saw that he was right, as I could see the beginning of a large cluster of trees. The only problem that was opposing me getting there was the fact that there was a road dividing us. Humans and their mobile metals rushed by, making their excessive sounds that blasted my eardrums.

Tommy stopped at a corner and pressed something that I couldn't see. Leaning in on my branch I saw that there was a small button attached to the pole. What I also saw was that there was a box up above the pole with some sort of red hand on it. I wondered what I was supposed to do. I brought my hand out to mirror the image, but nothing happened.

Then suddenly, the red hand was gone. In its place was a white figure. I almost fell backwards in shock.

Tommy, on the other hand, started walking again, as had the other humans who'd come to where he was not too long before. I was about to warn him of the mobile metals racing by, but then I realized that they had all stopped. There was no danger.

The dawning that Tommy was going without me spurred me to action. There was no time to think. Using all the room I was aloud, going back until the tree trunk was at my back, I jolted off the branch and out into the open. But before anyone could see me I was in the trees, covered by the friendly leaves. I grabbed a branch and used the momentum from the jump to swing onto another. Now the trees were packed closely together so I didn't have to expend as much energy.

"Tommy?" I called, unsure where the boy was. I looked around, but all I saw was green and smudges of brown. I was about to go down and look for him when a sound alerted me, sending me back to be obscured from view. At that moment a human walked by, on a path that I now just noticed, with small dog at her side that wanted to sniff at every tree it passed. Its owner did not stop to allow it, instead dragging it along with a rope. It wasn't like any canine digimon I've seen, and certainly not a Cerberumon.

As they passed I followed the dog's idea and sniffed for Tommy's scent. I had thought it'd be difficult, but I was wrong. In fact, I was one of the easiest things I'd done that day. His scent was simple to follow, and soon I knew where he was.

All in all it took me a couple of seconds to get to him, and when I found him he was with more humans. Then I realized that they were the others that had come to the digiworld: J.P, Zoe, Koji and Koichi, and Takuya.

They all looked different from my fuzzy memories, older and more mature. I guessed that time wasn't the same in the human world as the digital world. A lot of time must've past for them to age, but to me it felt like so little.

Silently, I crawled along the branches of the tree. I was just above them, looking down and listening.

"Hey, Tommy's here!"

"Tommy!"

"Did you find him?"

"Do you know what happened?"

Looks like some of the shyness that I remembered was still in him, as he shuffled around slightly when attention was directed at him. He didn't answer immediately, but instead gave a hesitant smile. "Yeah, I found him."

J.P, I knew it was him with his famous jumpsuit, leaned in from his seat on the grass. "Where is he?"

I saw Tommy scratch the back of his head. "I-Ah… Well… I told him not to be seen and he kinda-Ah… took it to heart." I smiled to myself. So he didn't know if I was following or not. I must've been very quiet.

"You lost him?" The girl, who was unmistakably Zoe (I'd know that straight blonde hair anywhere), asked. Tommy took a step back, twiddling his fingers together.

I puffed my chest out. I wasn't just going to let Tommy face the music he didn't deserve. I jumped down next to him in a flash, sitting on my rump. "No, I'm right here."

Some evil part of me laughed as they all jumped back. They must've forgotten how easy a digimon moved. I'd show them in time.

"Hello!" I called out cheerfully, ignoring the wide stares, and raised my hand in a greeting to all.

"Flamemon!" Takuya sputtered, his eyes goggling at me. It's got to be strange to see your other digimon half.

"Takuya!" I yelled with a big smile and couldn't help myself any longer. Just seeing him made me jittery. Why wouldn't it? After all, we'd traveled across the whole digiworld as one, our adventures making us stronger. I launched myself at him from my sitting position, not very hard if you asked me, with a laugh. We went down with a large _thump_. I didn't particularly care. "I've missed you!"

Whatever he said was muffled out as I squeezed him without restraint. When I was done he slumped to the ground looking very much crushed. I cocked my head to the side in confusion and hurt.

"You didn't miss me?" I asked, afraid if I had gone too far in this happy reunion between friends.

"No, no. Not that. It's nice to see you again. It's just I kinda need air to live." He explained with a sigh. Silence was let out for a moment before he looked around at the people assembled here and asked, "Can I get a hand here?"

"Oh, yes." The smile once again returned to me as I pulled him up without effort. With my unexpected strength he'd almost lost his balance, falling to the ground once more. My tail swished back and forth in a happy motion. My happiness didn't even deflate when I realized that all of them were taller than me by quite a lot. Even Zoey, the shortest of the group.

"I'd hate to break up this love fest but…" The one of the two with dark hair asked. If my memory served me correctly, he was Koji- or was it Koichi? They looked alike to me; it was hard to tell exactly. I looked up at him with a smile, my tail never stopping its wagging. He didn't seem to know how to continue once I gazed at him with a questioning expression.

Fortunately, the one that looked similar to him, Koichi, or Koji, finished his question for him.

"How did you get here?"

The way they all stared at me made my smile melt off my face. I shuffled back a few paces and looked down at my hands. They were fingering the chain and the pendant. The thing wasn't made out of any metal that I'd ever smelled. It felt like the digital world- home. I looked up with large eyes and smiled hesitantly.

"It's a long story. One that even I don't understand."

"Well," Takuya said walking over to sit on a nearby bench. The others joined him, getting seats of their own. "We have until my mom finds out that I'm not home. Which is all the time we need."

I smiled- I seem to be doing that a lot now- and plopped myself on the grass in front of them, looking up at them. I could feel my sharp teeth as I bit my lower lip. I took in a large breath.

"Well…"

* * *

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	2. Of New Friends and Chili

Humans were confusing.

They fussed over things all the time. Small and simple things that didn't even need to be fussed with. To them it was more complicated than it should be. They made something that could be so simple into something that could make them rip off all their hair in frustration. To me, it was perplexing and amusing in the same moment.

Currently, they were discussing on what to do with me. Not in the bad way. Just figuring out where I could hide for the time being. I knew it was from the prying eyes of citizens. From the last time I was in the human world and from what I'd recently encountered I figured that humans weren't as welcoming toward digimon as I'd like them to be.

I had already rejected an abandoned building (who knew what had made a home there) and a park or forest nearby. Being the picky digimon I deemed them unsafe, knowing that anything could happen while I was alone in this strange world.

After the suggestions came rushing by to fast for me to comprehend I stopped bothering to listen. Instead I took in everything around me, save for their talking, and compared it to the digital world. Many things were similar, such as the trees, along with the fresh, green grass underneath them. Even some of their metal boxes that transported them places took some similarity to the Trailmon back home. The noise was another thing entirely. Every second there was some loud noise wanting to be heard and it took whatever measure to do so. Thankfully after a moment or two of listening to those ear-shattering sounds it was numbed out of tune. The sky itself was so blue and I could see no difference from the one in my digital home, aside from the many air born digimon that were usually flying through and across it. After a while of looking at it I came to believe that it actually might be my sky. It did look beautiful and peaceful...

"It's settled then!" Were the words that popped the quiet and calm bubble I was in. Sighing a little I tuned back in. My time enjoying the scenery was over. All the kids were nodding their heads in approval in whatever idea they had come up with. At my inquiring look Takuya answered, "You'll be staying at my house."

It was a pretty unimpressive idea to say the least. After nearly an hour of debating and shooting off ideas that was what they came up with. Like I had said earlier, humans made too much of simple things. Nonetheless I was happy with what was going to happen. Obviously, I was going to be spending some time with my human counter part. I bounced up onto my feet with a goofy smile that I knew popped up on Takuya's face every so often.

"Let?s go!" I walked off in a random direction with my stride full of purpose. About ten paces forward I realized that no one was following and stopped self-consciously, confusion settling on my face. I looked back with embarrassment. "Uh... How do we get you your house, Takuya?"

"Getting there will be no problem." My human half told me, gesturing they walk in the opposite direction with a grin. He, along with the rest of the gang, was waiting for me to make my way towards them. "It's getting you inside without my mom knowing."

* * *

After much sneaking around the city, mainly concerning Flamemon jumping behind the closest object available whenever someone passed (which was often), they finally reached Takuya's street. It wasn't much really, just like any other neighborhood. His very own house was the third one into the street, similar looking to the other houses around.

"C'mon you guys, we have to hurry. I sneaked out, so if we're caught it's all over." He hurriedly pushed at Koji, almost making his friend trip, all the while dragging Kouchi by his shirt. The protests expressed by both twins were promptly ignored and shushed. Flamemon followed at the back, a look of entertainment settled on his face.

Once they were in the front of his home, Takuya took it upon himself to sneak a peak through the door. Seeing that the coast was clear he proceeded to shove everybody in- quietly, he might add.

He stopped Flamemon as the digimon lifted his foot to take a step forward. "Uh-uh. No way I'm taking the chance of my mom seeing you so-"

"But you said?" The Legendary Warrior of Flame protested, his eyes getting all big.

"-that's why you have to go through the window straight to my room. It's on the second floor so you?ll have to find something to help you get up there. I recommend the wall that divides our property from the neighbors." Takuya finished, pointing to the side of the house. "Just make sure when you're up there that they don't see you.?"

Flamemon's puppy-dog face was gone in an instant, determination taking its place. "Got it!" He saluted the teen and bounded off on all fours without another wasted breathe.

The teen then sneaked into his house and guided his friends to the stairs, disregarding J.P.'s question, "You got anything to eat?" when they passed the hallway that led to the kitchen. As they filed up the steps he cringed when his mother's voice emanated out from somewhere in the house.

"Takuya? Is that you?" She sounded close by.

"Heymomit'sme,!" He called out, rushing to fit it all in the same sentence. It was barely comprehensible, but that was the idea.

"What?"

He didn't answer as he shoved that last of his friends, Tommy, into his room, slamming it shut, almost catching the end of his shirt between the door and frame. He could almost hear his mom's muttering about not introducing his friends properly, for some lucky reason not even considering anything suspicious. He was slightly surprised she didn't sprint upstairs, demanding what his friends were doing in their house in the first place when he was supposedly sent to his room. Putting his back to the cool surface of his door he heaved a big sigh of relief. Not even noticing that his friends were in a pile at his feet, obviously tripping on the way in.

"What a peculiar place." A voice said to the left of him. Glancing up he saw the bright hair of Flamemon moving toward him. The window that had surely been his ticket to enter the room was close shut with no evidence of ever being opened. The digimon's eyes roamed the room and settled on Zoe, Tommy, J.P., Kouchi, and Koji; all of who were currently trying to detangle themselves from the ground and each other. "What in the digital world are you doing on the floor?"

A few glares were sent to the digimon, along with Takuya himself, as they got up. They all watched as Flamemon got bored with watching them and started roaming the room; his eyes alight with curiosity. He switched to all fours within seconds and occasionally sniffed a particular item, such as an old discarded T-shirt and an alarm clock. He even went so far as to climb his dresser and peer at them from that higher vantage point. With a confident leap he was on the unmade bed of Takuya's, their eyes following him in that graceful arc.

"Oh." Was the slightly surprised word he uttered when he landed with a bounce. Lifting up a hand and he looked down at the soft substance closely, as if to figure out how it bounced. He jumped experimentally. A joyous grin started forming on his face as he jumped higher and higher. "Takuya look!"

The said person couldn't help but smile as he watched. Apparently the digital world didn't have beds suitable for jumping on them. However the smile was replaced with a concerned frown when the fire digimon grabbed Tommy and dragged him into the jumping spree too. The youngest of the group, hyped up with fun the digimon was having, didn't need much invitation. Soon both were happily hopping.

"Ugh? Guys. Keep it down." He said lamely, both trying to be quiet so his mom wouldn't hear him and loud enough to be heard of the laughter that had started up. "My mom is pretty nosy and I don't want her to come up here."

"You guys should really try this!" Flamemon laughed, now trying out different moves that could be done. He performed a small flip, it seemingly impossible to do in the limited time he was in the air. In a matter of seconds he was executing a perfect three-sixty, twisting in odd angles.

"Yeah, this is pretty fun." Tommy looked to be having a blast, Flamemon's elaborate jumps resulting in his bouncing to get higher and higher. The space was limited more on his bed as Zoe clambered up to jump with them. Her peels of laughter soon joined the two. J.P. looked as if he had half the mind to join them, but was debating whether the space left was enough for him.

"Childish." Koji, for only he would scoff and lean against the wall with his arms crossed just as he did. His twin brother on the other hand had a small but shy smile on. His mouth opened up to say something to his brothe-

"Takuya! What is that banging? I can hear it all the way down here in the kitchen!"

The boy's eyes widened along with the rest of the children's. Excluding Flamemon, who ignorantly kept on his game. The taps of his mom's footsteps got Zoe and Tommy off his bed in a matter of seconds. He didn't dare turn around in case his mom made the sudden surprise of opening the door faster than expected.

"Flamemon, hide somew-"

The slow turning of the doorknob caught Takuya's attention.

"Oh digi-bites!" The groaning of the bed springs were heard momentarily then silence as his mom opened the door.

"Oh." His mom's mouth formed a small circle, turning into a sweet smiled within seconds. "Just playing around I see. Well, I just wanted to come and ask if you kids are hungry? Would you like some snacks? I made chocolate chip cookies? Or sandwiches, maybe?"

The boy clad in red didn't turn to see what his mom saw, but instead forced a lighthearted smile. "Yeah. That's cool mom."

"That'd be great Mrs. Kanbara." Koichi said smoothly adding a smile of his own. The woman's smile widened considerably, backing out of the door while saying things about setting the table and that they should get downstairs quickly if they didn't want the food to get cold.

The room could have been clouded completely by the outtake of breath. Though Koji sucked his back in a second later as he looked up. Everyone else, including Takuya himself, followed the twin's gaze. For struggling to stay balanced above him, hands and feet somehow clawing the ceiling, was Flamemon.

The shaking of the Legendary Warrior's entire body was the only thing that gave any sign to his oncoming fall, which happened not a few seconds after. All of them cleared back a few steps, out of dropping range- that is, except for Koji. With a loud 'Oof' the digimon was sprawled on top of Koji, who was having a face-full of the lovely floor. While Zoe and Kouchi fussed over them both, Tommy and J.P. were holding back their laughter.

"Arg! Why are you so heavy?" Koji gasped out, forcing his body to turn around so that his stomach was facing the ceiling. Currently the digimon was spread out across his legs, and too much in a dazed state to get up. With much struggle the twin pushed Flamemon off him, not caring to be gentle- or quiet for that matter. Flamemon was roughly shoved onto the hardwood floor. Koichi, seeing his brother was still all right and back to his kicking self, began to fuss over Flamemon.

"Are you okay Flamemon?" The nicer twin asked, lightly probing the digimon with a finger. "That was quite a fall."

"Why are there three of each of you?" The Warrior muttered, his eyes looking to be in a daze. "And why are they spinning?"

"He's fine." Takuya stated. If the digimon was anything like he was, he would be all right in a couple of minutes. He himself had dealt with enough head-crashing falls in his lifetime to know that it hurt a lot at first, and then the rest was bearable. He grabbed Flamemon's shoulders.

"Hey, J.P., you wanna help me with this?" He asked.

With the other boy's help, they got the digimon on his feet. The bush of a tail that sprouted out of Flamemon's backside swirled and swished, knocking things over from non-expecting shelves.

"Let's get him on the bed." The two boys half dragged, half picked up the digimon, ignoring the counting of "3...19...11-32... so dizzy" and heaved him onto the bed. The instant his furry body touched the bed he was out.

"Okay, this is going to be harder than it looks." Takuya stated to the room in general staring down at his counterpart. "He's a magnet for trouble. I should know."

"So what are we going to do about him?" Zoe asked as she set herself lightly next to the unconscious being. Said being had curled himself in a tight ball and was snoring slightly. "He can't just stay here, locked up in your room Takuya."

"I know, I know. My house isn't the most private one in the world."

"We have to find a way to get him back to the Digital World." Koichi had perched himself on the windowsill next to his twin. "Plus finding a way to round up Cerberumon and getting him out of the human world too."

"I say he's not telling us everything." Koji muttered.

Takuya's eyebrows came together in an angered expression they were all familiar with. Then the argument they all knew was coming came.

"Are you calling him a liar?"

"No, I'm just saying that he isn't telling us the whole truth."

"And I say he is!"

"And I say your wrong!"

"What? I'm hardly ever wrong!"

"Really?"

"Okay, not all the time. But neither are you."

"Yes, I am."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yea-huh"

"Well th-"

"Well, maybe we.." Said Tommy speaking over the argument, running a hand through his long hair. "We could bring him to the train station. You know, where we got in."

"Oh, you know that won't work again." J.P. disagreed sadly. "And I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who tried."

'How about we just lay low for a few days. You know, let people calm down after that attack Cerberumon gave them. Catch him and decide what to do then." Zoe proposed, stroking Flamemon's head as he slept on. "Nothing can be done now. Not with Flamemon in this state. I mean, look at him. He's in his Rookie form."

The others nodded in agreement. Just as it was decided Takuya's mom called them down for the snacks she had prepared. The smell was roaming around the house, reaching them from the kitchen. Takuya grinned at the others as he threw the door open, yelling at the others behind.

"Last one there is a digi-egg!"

* * *

For the next few days I hid out in Takuya's house. A guest in the house full of people who didn't know I was even there.

I varied from sleeping underneath my human half's bed and in the small space behind the washing machine. It wasn't much of a tight fit and it was quite cozy when I curled up in a ball, back against the wall. Whether I fell asleep to Takuya's snoring or the loud hum of washing machine wasn't very important. Both were equally as loud.

I ate the scraps of food Takuya brought me after every meal. Sometimes when everyone was away, which wasn't often; I would walk down and raid the fridge. I didn't feel good about not telling Takuya but there really was no need too.

Besides the fact that the whole gang came over and visited me often I still felt lonely. The visits usually consisted of talk about the digital world, how I got here and how I was going to get back. Sure we joked around a lot and laughed with each other but, it wasn't enough.

For the good part of each day they were at this thing called school; from what they told me it seemed like a horrid place. Plus when getting home none of them would be able to be my companion for the reason they called 'homework'.

So, instead, I amused myself by roaming the house and inspecting every unusual object I laid my eyes upon. After a while I started getting reckless, even doing it when the occupants of the house were present. No one noticed me, aside from occasionally being caught by Takuya. His mother was to busy doing small jobs around the house or going shopping for whatever she needed. His father worked all day, not coming home until dinnertime for the family and leaving early in the morning.

Then there was Takuya's little brother. Shinya looked like a smaller version of Takuya: same eyes, same jaw, same stubborn stance, same hair. Although Shinya's hair was a little wilder, falling into his face occasionally if he turned his head a particular way.

I found it fun to watch him go throughout his day, making mine a little more bearable. He seemed to take everything lightheartedly, making a game out of the simplest of things. He was basically the prankster of the house (or the 'annoying little midget' as Takuya called him). The two brothers were at it whenever the house was at its quietest. From what Takuya told me it was a sort of war between them, each playing pranks so that the other's day would be a little less than perfect. If one took the remote, the other would strike back by filling the other's shoes with pudding. If one took the last slice of pizza, the other would stink bomb the brother's room.

It was all very entertaining. Sometimes I even played too. When Takuya was busy and he still hadn't gotten his brother back I would interfere. It usually consisted of small pranks. Like tying these things call shoelaces together. I would be the only one to ever see him trip in the morning when he'd take his first steps out of his room; he'd fall for it every time. Sometimes I couldn't control my laughter at the confused expression on his face. So much like his brother's.

Shinya would come downstairs, glare at his older brother and sit down at the kitchen table. Takuya never seemed to comprehend what was happening- well, not from what I could see. Anyways, he didn't think much of it and didn't confront me if he had suspicions, so there was no harm.

So days past in the Kanabara household, and then those days turned into weeks. I continued living in secret from the rest of the family with Takuya and his friends, my only real companions. My hopes of returning to the digital world were waning, the chances thinning, but I forced myself not to think negative thoughts or anything of the sort. Luckily, many good things would drown out the depressing thoughts of never returning home.

Like chili, for instance.

I can honestly say that in the digital world there was no chili, so I'd never tasted it before, let along heard of it. It wasn't until Takuya told me one school day that his mom was making it that I learned what it was. I wondered who would want to eat something that people strived to make so that it burned your taste buds off. Apparently a lot of humans, Takuya and his family included.

That evening I was resting on the roof, just a little above where Takuya's window was, letting the sun's rays beat down on me. The cloudless sky was as blue as ever, a person being able to see miles off. At least that was the same, the sun and sky, whether in the human or digital world. That fact alone gave me comfort, to know that something was constant and had accompanied me in my trip.

Takuya was off at school. Again. It was just cruelty that he had to go for five days straight. The same was for mini-Takuya, Shinya, though I didn't know if he had to go through the same misery as Takuya himself said he had to go through.

I was alone in the house, except for Takuya's own mother, but she was headed out to tend to her personal garden in the front yard. Other than that I was the only living person in the household, the aspect not bothering me the least at that moment.

Done with my nap I quietly made my way off the roof, careful not to make any noise on the tiles to alert Takuya's mother or any other neighbor. I crawled my way into Takuya's open window and nimbly jumped down to the floor. Making my way out of the messy room and downstairs was easy. The squeaky stairs didn't pose any problem as I just I slid down the banister.

The growl coming from my stomach directed me to the kitchen.

The thing that Takuya called a stove was on. The tiny blue flame was currently heating some chunky, red glump in a pot. Even though it bubbled suspiciously at me, the smell coming off it was delicious to say the least. I was a little surprised that Takuya and his family would want to eat something that looked like a Monochromon upchucked it after a bad meal, and why many humans liked it was beyond me. But not beyond me enough to at least try it.

Glancing around me I checked for any signs of Takuya's mother walking in. All clear.

I picked up the pot (my fingers didn't burn where they touched the holding unit), balancing the large weight so that it didn't drop. I was the Legendary Warrior of Flame and it would be positively embarrassing if something burned me and proved to heavy.

My nose twitched as the aromas of the contents reached me. It smelled appealing, and it tasted just as good. I gobbled it down in gratuitous amounts, Takuya's instructions on using a spoon all but forgotten.

When I took a breather, swallowing a mouthful of the deliciousness, I could feel excess chili all over my mouth. My hand came up to wipe it off, smudging it. I licked it off, not wanting to waste it or get any on the floor around me.

I sighed with content. My stomach was satisfied. And there was still a good amount left for Takuya and his family.

All was good as I stepped forward a small pace to put the pot back into its place on the stove. All was not good when the spoon on the floor, which I had neglected to use earlier, came back with vengeance and sneakily found its way under my foot. And again, all was still not well when I tripped over the silly utensil.

I can honestly say that I let out a mixture of sounds as I balanced precariously for some seconds; most were unintelligible nonsense that sounded animalistic.

Then, to my utmost failure, I fell.

I fell flat on my digital butt.

And with a small crash, the chili spilled all over the kitchen, splatters everywhere. I was unlucky enough to get myself covered entirely, the bowl landing on top of me. The inside of it was completely black, with some of the remains dripping down its side.

A surprised gasp echoed through my ears, being amplified by the bowl over my head.

I knew for a fact that it wasn't mine.

My hand brought itself up to tilt the pot off my head slightly, gazing around me. Doing this I peered over at the doorway of the kitchen, completely expecting Takuya to be there.

It was not Takuya, but instead, his brother, Shinya.

Now let me tell you something. I am the Legendary Warrior of Flames. I have battled numerous of opponents, all ranging in near ultimate power. I had come out one way or another in those fights; sometimes unscathed and sometimes with so many wounds I could barely keep conscious. I have many forms, each more powerful than the next. I have mastered each and every one of them and their combinations of attacks

Truth be told, I am a warrior through and through.

But at the sight of Takuya's little brother I nearly peed myself.

Locks of hair couldn't hide the surprise in those wide eyes of his.

Lifting up the pot even higher, I offered a small wave, trying to ignore the sinking feeling on my stomach (maybe it was the chili). "Eh? Hi there."

His mouth opened in what looked like horror. I could just see the intake of breath, the first stage of the oncoming scream. The scream that would for sure alert his mother outside. The scream that would reveal me to Takuya's family and the world.

I couldn't let that happen.

With a quick toss of the pot, which miraculously landed back onto the lit stove, I pounced on the small boy. The weight of me as I landed caught him by surprise and, as gravity took its told, we fell to the ground.

"Wait! Please don't?" One of my hands covered his mouth while the other secured his own hands, hands that were at the moment trying to get a good smack at me. He struggled against me, trying to break free of my iron grip, but it was futile. I was clearly the stronger one here. "Please don't scream Shinya! Please! Takuya will be angry with me! Just don't scream, please!"

At the mention of his brother's name his large eyes became confused. His struggling stopped momentarily, which was just enough time for me to pick up the boy and toss him over my shoulder. I heard the muffle gasp from Shinya as I, quickly and quietly, made my way up the stairs and into Takuya's room. The door was just closing with a soft click when I dumped the small human onto the bed.

My tail swished nervously from side to side as I began to pace the room. There was silence as I did this, no sound coming from the boy. He was huddled in a tight ball, watching me with large eyes, making no attempt to move from the spot I had placed him.

Soon my pacing turned into agitated trotting around the entire room on all fours.

What was I going to do?

Shinya had seen me. He had seen me roaming around the house-his house- and had caught me. What had Takuya said? Something abo- Oh yes. He had said that secrecy was the best thing I could have in the human world. Without secrecy, the entire digital world could be endangered. And wasn't I one of it's protectors?

I stopped next to the bed for a second to bite on my fingernail. Even if I was this great warrior, what would I be if I couldn't even do what I was made to do? I had put a threat on my entire race by exposing myself to this child. And not to mention that I will have to deal with Takuya's wrath. He will be so disappointed. Disappointed at me. And strange enough, I felt that Takuya's disappointment was more troubling than that of jeopardizing the digital world.

"Digi-bites." I cursed, my teeth mashing together in frustration. In one swift movement I hauled myself onto the Takuya's bedpost, internally barricading myself for being stupid. While perched there I got a better look at the human child that had caused all this frustration.

He was a small thing that was for sure. His messy brown hair covered my view of one of his eyes. The other was the same brown color as my human half and still wide with... was that awe?

I leaned forward and took a sniff of Takuya's little brother involuntarily. I wrinkled my nose in surprised at what I smelled. "You smell just like Takuya."

The boy shifted under my uncomfortably intense stare. So with a shrug I jumped down from my seat and settled onto the bouncy material of the bed next to him. Gladly enough, he didn't jump away or scream, just leaning to the side a bit. That was as good as a reaction as I was hoping to get. Not the best, but not the worst.

"Look." I began, trying to figure out the words that would explain it all, but not so much that would give him an overload. "I'm not here to hurt you, or steal your digi-eggs from you, or whatever you're thinking. And I'm no stranger- I know Takuya. Actually, I was Takuya for a while- well, I guess you could look at it that way. But he knows all about me and why I'm here. He's even helping me find a way to leave and go home. So please, don't freak out." I took a breather as I scrambled to fit everything in, not even sure how to continue. Not even sure if I was saying the right things.

"You were on TV!" Small Takuya blurted out suddenly, nothing to do with what I had just said, making me jump from his bluntness. Both brothers, I observed, shared a numerous amount of qualities and speaking whatever was on their mind seemed to be one of them.

I nodded, almost sheepishly. I had seen myself on the TV a little while after I'd come to the house, and for some reasons the humans had continued to play it repeatedly, over and over again. "Uh, yeah? That was when I first came to this world." I said awkwardly, unsure how to respond to that. "I was fighting Cerberumon, the one who started attacking the humans."

"Cerberumon?" Shinya questioned, his brows furrowed just like Takuya's when he was thinking. I was glad that we had passed the strained part of our meeting, but didn't express it on the outside. "You mean the big dog?"

I stifled a laugh, not wanting to be mean- even to Cerberumon. "Yes, the 'big dog', although I'm pretty sure that normal dogs in your world don't breathe green, acid fire. He was the other digimon that came with me, but he's not my friend and he's not as charming as myself."

"Oh yeah. Speaking of your charming self. What about the mess downstairs?"

I decided that the best course of action was to avoid all eye contact with the Takuya look alike.

"Mom's going to freak when she sees it." He pressed on with a worried look. "Not only that, but she's so gonna blame me. I mean, I'm the only one in the house. That she knows about anyway."

What he said made me feel bad. It was entirely my fault and he was the one going to be blamed for it all. I didn't want that, I found out with surprise. There was an instant instinct that told me to stop anything from causing him pain, or even discomfort. Just like it was with Takuya.

But aside from that fact, I still wished there was a way that made it so that Shinya wasn't the one to be blamed?

Suddenly, with a determined frown etched onto my face, I leaped off the comfy sleeping object. I was halfway down the stairs when I heard Shinya loud whisper to me to get back there. "Hey," He frantically called after me, "mom will see you!"

My high sense of hearing told me that Takuya's mother was beginning the walk to bring her back into the home. With a quick dash into the kitchen, staying clear of all the puddles of chili, I stood in front of the stove. Turning the dial up to as high as it could I picked up the pot on the stove and threw it at the nearest wall, gladly not destroying as much as I'd worried about. The sound it made as it connected sounded incredible close to a bomb being detonated.

And as I high tailed it out of there I could hear the once calm footsteps racing towards the kitchen. Within seconds I was safe and sound in Takuya's room, sitting on the bed once more.

Shinya had gotten up from his seat and was looking at me with a nervous expression. "What did you d-?"

"Shinya!" A shrill voice cut him off, the urgent tone unmistakable.

His eyes widened considerably as he looked to my beaming face. His reply was weak and hesitant.

"Uh- yeah, mom?"

"Come down!" By the sound of it the water was running downstairs.

I gestured for him to go downstairs with a grin, all my sparkly white teeth showing. Without any other choice the boy shuffled out of the room with hunched shoulders, preparing himself for whatever may come.

As the boy met with his mother in the kitchen I heard her explain to him that she had left the stove burning to high and the chili couldn't take it, taking that to be the reason for the mess. She handed Shinya a rag and told him to start helping her with the cleaning. She turned her back to the boy as she used the phone to order some pizza for the family to eat since their dinner wasn't up to the task.

When Takuya's little brother looked up in my direction, where I peeked over the banister of the stairs, he smiled, and then mouthed the words, 'Thank you' In response I gave a thumbs-up and then receded back to my sanctuary.

I let out the deep breath I hadn't known I was keeping in. I didn't let it show, but I was extremely worried that Shinya would expose me to his mother. Thankfully, it didn't seem like a problem.

What did seem like a problem, I found out as soon as I set foot in Takuya's room, was how I was going to get chili stains out of the covers of Takuya's bed.

* * *

Subject 9205 was extremely interesting. It almost seemed like it had an intelligence that leveled with that of humans. And it was clearly not human, that was for sure.

It was quite large. The estimation of its size was that a horse, maybe slightly bigger. But it had the temperament of a grizzly bear that had been poked awake far too early from hibernation. Even now it roared and growled its fury and frustration at being contained.

"Dr. Avoy, Subject 8973 is acting up again."

"Very well. I'll be there shortly." The said doctor flickered through the papers within his grasp, glancing over the subject's vitals. Seeing only the increase of its heartbeat, which was most certainly the affect of its anger and thrashing, he deemed him healthy. "Can you get some sedatives for Subject 9205 there. We don't want him harming himself."

The nurse that had called him left the room with a promise to get the sedatives. The door shut after her with a soft click.

"Cerberumon."

He looked up with a snap of his neck to see that Subject 9205 had stopped attacking its cage. It was sitting in the very center of the cage and pawing at the specially designed muzzle that restrained him. However, while the large paws were working at the muzzle, its dark eyes focused entirely on him.

He didn't know how to respond. With a clatter, the papers and files that were in his hands fell to the floor. He didn't move an inch. He couldn't.

"Uh...Wha-How... Can you... re-repeat that?"

"Cerberumon. Not Subject 9205. Cerberumon." The lips that covered large, sharp ivory teeth looked odd moving in such a way that words came out. The muzzle didn't help, with it muffling the words that shouldn't have been coming out.

"Oh-ugh... Yes. I'll, ugh, re..." He swallowed loudly. "r-remem... ber that."

Then, not even bothering to clean up the papers, he took quick steps out of the room. Once the door closed behind him Dr. Avoy rushed down the hall, taking a sharp left into a ordinary room. The ordinary room being the place of an ordinary office, which was the working place of a seemingly ordinary man. He didn't even knock when he came barging in.

"Mr. Hallyway! M-Mr. Hallyway!" The young doctor called out. By the time he had arrive his breaths were coming in gasps, his pale face red with adrenaline. "C-Cer- I mean, Subject 9205 is showing unexpected signs of intel-telligence. Unexpected and... Un-unnerving."

There was no response from the man. The other took that as a sign to continue and having his breath return to their normal patterns, though still shaken, he said, "I d-don't understand how, since it's evo-l-lutionarily impossible, but Subject 9205 i-is... t-talking."

"Talking, you say?" The voice was low and curious. The eyes that went with the voice was dark and calculating as he looked at the young man. "Well," He said as his braced himself against the chair and pushed himself to his feet, "let's see what he has to say, shall we?."

**Author's Comments:**

**Sorry for taking so long to post this up. ****Our precious laptop is gone to some distant horizon, never to return, and it's difficult to get on ANY computer- desktop OR laptop. *sniff* Sad, isn't it? XOOOO**


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